


Six Feet Under

by AMidnightDreary



Series: Kings of Helheim [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Banter, Boys In Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feels, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, Living Together, Loki (Marvel) Gets a Hug, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 09:13:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19002793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMidnightDreary/pseuds/AMidnightDreary
Summary: Tony and Loki begin living together (half of the year, anyway) and it's really easy. And complicated.Sequel to my story "The Bones of my Spine".





	Six Feet Under

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, the sequel I promised!
> 
> I wrote this chapter ages ago and I have a few more written. Initially I wanted to wait until I'm done with the whole story, but since all my other WIPs are absolutely not cooperating at the moment, I thought I'd start posting this. xD
> 
> Also, please note that there won't be a lot of plot happening in this. This is just their multiple chapters long happy ending, with a bit of angst and feels now and then.
> 
> Tags will be updated along the way, so keep an eye on them!
> 
> I hope you like it!^.^

Tony sits cross-legged in the middle of the room, his eyes closed. He takes a deep breath, ignores Groot who is pulling at Tony's hair while climbing around on his shoulders, and guides his magic into the parched grass beneath him.

He is still recovering, so it’s not as easy as it should be, but that doesn't mean he can't do it. The grass comes to life again, as well as the soil below it. The trees look much healthier already when Tony opens his eyes. He has to blink a little, because the “sun” is shining again, too. The next tug at his hair is an especially forceful one, making him wince and reach back to lift Groot off his shoulder and set him down on the grass.

“See, that's better, isn't it?”, he says, but Groot already ran off to inspect his recovered garden. Tony sighs. “You're welcome.”

He stands up and is surprised when the room starts spinning, surprised enough that he almost falls. Thankfully, he is steadied at once by two hands, one on his arm and the other on his back.

“Anthony? Are you -”

“I'm fine”, Tony says, turning around to Loki as soon as he doesn't feel dizzy anymore. He grins, but Loki doesn't seem convinced.

“Was that too much?”, he asks, eyes scanning Tony's body, as if looking for injuries.

“No, I'm fine”, Tony replied, but Loki _still_ doesn't seem convinced. “Really, I’m okay. I've been sick for months, I guess it's normal.”

Loki looks at him, still sceptical, but he pulls back his hands and lets him stand on his own. Tony expects to be quizzed about his condition, but thankfully Loki gets distracted by Groot, who comes running back to them and tugs at Loki’s pants. Loki looks down and crouches, smiling as he takes the flower Groot has brought him.

“It’s very pretty, thank you.”

Tony frowns at the sapling, even though he can’t deny that there’s some warmth bubbling in his chest at the sight. Groot likes Loki a lot, and that seems to be mutual. It’s sweet, and it makes dealing with the fact that Tony hasn’t been there for his creations the last months a little easier. They were in good hands, obviously.

Still.

“I just made that grow”, he says as Groot trots back to him. “You shouldn’t pick flowers as young as this one, it’s rude.”

Groot looks up at him with his big, brown eyes and Tony sighs, leaning down to lift the twig up from the ground. He’s a little heavier than Tony remembers, and taller. Groot climbs up to Tony’s shoulder and makes himself comfortable there. Dum-E chooses that moment to make himself noticeable by a very loud and very sad row of chirps.

"I'm coming", Tony calls, then exchanges glances with Loki. "You'd think I didn't just play with them for five hours."

"They missed you", Loki replies, following Tony out of the garden and back into the workshop.

“And I them.” Tony smiles and pets U, who is bumping into his leg again and again. “But, they’re fine, and that’s what’s important.” He meets Loki’s eyes again. “Thank you for taking care of them. I mean it.”

“It was no hardship. They’re lovely.”

Tony snorts and looks down at his bots. “Feels good to have one of the most powerful gods wrapped around your fingers, hm?”

Butterfingers chirps in affirmation, and Loki chuckles. “Well, you must know.”

Tony smiles brightly at him. Loki looks slightly sheepish, which is definitely adorable. Tony also notices that Loki looks _good_ here in the workshop; he doesn’t seem out of place. For the first time Tony actually takes his workshop in (the bots and Groot were more important until now) and he realizes that everything is exactly how he left it. That surprises him, actually. He didn’t think that Loki would make a mess of Tony’s things - or let the bots make a mess of Tony’s things - but he did think that Loki would look around a _little_. But as it looked like, Loki either did a good job returning everything to where it had been when Tony left, or he didn’t touch anything in the first place.

“I left everything the way it was”, Loki says suddenly. He’s always been good at guessing what Tony’s thinking about. “You have my word, I didn’t touch anything.”

Tony looks at him and has to bite back on a laugh; Loki seems so _nervous._ It’s sweet, somehow, and completely unnecessary. (Not that Tony isn’t a bit nervous himself, but he knows, in theory, that they don’t have to be.)

“Thank you”, he says. “I appreciate that, but - you know, I wouldn’t have minded.” Loki just blinks at him, apparently confused, so Tony adds, “Hey, if you want I can give you a tour? Show you what I’m working on?”

Loki’s eyes become round. “You would - be comfortable with that? With having me here?”

Tony is aware that this isn’t exactly self-evident - He has always been overprotective of his shop and creations and, during Tony’s earlier stay in Helheim, Loki was here exactly twice, and never for long. Tony never let him examine anything, either. But now… If there is anybody Tony would happily grant access to his workshop, it’s Loki.

“I wouldn’t just be comfortable with that”, Tony says, stepping closer to Loki. “I’d be happy to have you here. Also, you let me into your library ages ago, so it’s only fair.”

Loki raises a brow, but by the way his mouth is twitching, Tony can tell that he barely manages to keep from smiling. “You sneaked into my library.”

Right. Tony grins. “You never threw me out, though.”

Loki’s smile breaks through, and it’s one of the most delighted Tony has ever seen. He wants to make it widen.

“You can have your own desk here, too. I have a lot of stuff to show you - maybe you can even help with some things, or we could start a new project together. There are a million things we could -”

Tony breaks off with a surprised that is _not_ a squeak, because suddenly Loki’s hands grab his waist to pull him close and his mouth is on Tony’s. Tony forgets about the workshop and new projects and anything else that was on his mind just two seconds ago. He concentrates on Loki’s lips instead, on his tongue, on the fact that his body fits perfectly against Tony’s own when they wrap their arms around each other.

"I love you", Loki whispers against Tony's lips when they break apart long enough for him to speak, and Tony smiles.

He responds with another kiss.

 

⸪ ⸫ ⸪

 

Being with Loki is even better than Tony remembers. The last months were admittedly horribly, what with Tony's sickness and Odin and the fear that he might never see Loki again. But now, all of that starts to fade, because Loki is there and he's careful and concerned and still so _happy_ , and Tony missed him so much that only now he feels like he can breathe freely again.

Also, they are engaged. Loki gave Tony a _crown_ , which means that he wants him at his side until the day he dies and a new God of Death will be born - and that day is still far, far away.

Of course, they only have fall and winter. But Tony doesn't plan on letting the six months between winter and fall pass without speaking to or seeing Loki at all - surely, a few visits now and then won't hurt. And, anyway, right now that doesn't matter. They have six months they can spend together, for now, and Tony plans to enjoy every second of them.

This day is a good start. Loki convinces Tony to eat lunch, because neither of them had anything for breakfast, and then they sit down in Loki's library and just _talk._ About what happened - mostly about how stupid (and brave) it was of Tony to go and challenge Odin - and about what will happen - Loki doesn't yet seem entirely convinced that Tony is going to _stay_ , but Tony plans to remedy that - and also about everything in between. Tony almost forgot how easy it is to talk to Loki, how well they fit together.

They manage to talk into the late evening, with Tony not even realizing that the passing of time is still a thing that happens. It's Loki who eventually suggests going to bed, and while Tony doesn't want to stop talking, he isn't actually opposed to _going to bed._

Loki walks Tony to his bedroom, but he doesn't make any move to come in. They stop in front of the closed door, in fact, and Loki is looking at him in a way that lets Tony know that Loki doesn't _plan_ on staying. Not because he doesn't want to - Tony can see that he wants to - but because of… well, like hell Tony knows.

Tony needs 0.3 seconds to decide that this is absolutely ridiculous. He looks at Loki, who is looking back at him with a smile on his lips and a soft look in his forest-green eyes and, _oh_ , Tony loves him, doesn’t he? The realization isn’t a new one, of course, but it still manages to steal his breath. Maybe he stays silent for too long.

“Good night, then”, Loki says, still smiling. He hesitates, but then adds, “I will see you tomorrow, yes? At breakfast?”

“Sure”, Tony gets out, and he wants to say something else but Loki is beaming suddenly, and it’s so _ridiculous_ , but Tony forgets what he wanted to say.

Loki leans down and kisses Tony’s cheek, his lips just a breeze. “I’ll be waiting for you”, he promises quietly, and then he wants to turn around and go, but Tony grasps his lapels and holds him back.

Loki blinks, surprised, but before he can say anything Tony has already pulled him down, standing up on tiptoes at the same time to cover Loki’s lips with his own. The God of Death makes a surprised sound, but he recovers quickly enough and wraps his arms around Tony, pulling him close and kissing back. Loki’s lips are soft and cold, but they warm up quickly, especially when their tongues start teasing one another. Tony doesn’t know how long they stand there, kissing each other, but he does know that he won’t let Loki go. Not tonight, not ever.

When they break apart, they are both breathless, and Loki’s lips are red and wet and still parted, so Tony has to kiss them again, just briefly. Loki’s fingers are digging into his sides hard enough that it hurts, but Tony doesn’t mind.

“You don’t actually want us to sleep in different bedrooms, do you?”, he asks, his voice a little rough. Their faces are still close enough that their breath mingles, but Tony is entirely focused on the look in Loki’s eyes.

It’s _happy._

The older god shakes his head, tongue flicking out to wet his lips. Which shouldn’t be allowed. “I didn’t mean to presume -”

"Yes, because you're the polite one of us", Tony says, which earns him an odd look. "You are! If you want to be, at least. Anyway - I did some… _presuming._ A lot of it, actually." He gives Loki his best lewd smile. "Mostly at night, when I had to think of you."

For a second, Loki looks actually shocked, but then he makes a low and _scandalized_ sound that has Tony laughing. Loki's hands on his waist hold him even tighter, and Loki steals another firm kiss before he presses his lips to Tony's temple.

"You shouldn't say such things to me", he murmurs against Tony's skin.

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because I can only stay polite for so long. It's difficult enough with you being so… _tempting_."

Tony's grin is so wide that it hurts his cheeks. "Tempting, huh?" He pulls back to look at Loki. "You know… Maybe I don't want you to be polite."

Loki hesitates. Something is bothering him, Tony can see that, but for the life of him, he doesn't know what it is. He himself couldn't be happier at the moment. Well, unless they were naked and in a bed, that would possibly make him a tiny bit happier.

Loki is more important than that, though.

"Hey", Tony says and tugs at Loki's lapel. "If you actually want us to sleep in different bedrooms -"

"No", Loki interrupts him at once, shaking his head. "No, I would love to… share a room." He smiles - it's a tentative smile, but not any less pretty - and reaches up to cup Tony's face, thumb stroking over his skin. "A bed. But I don't want this to be a… a frenzy. You are tired and not entirely recovered yet, I don't want you to do anything you might come to regret later."

Wait, what?

"Regret?", Tony repeats, frowning.

"I trust you to be familiar with the meaning of that word", Loki drawls. He's getting defensive, but Tony isn't impressed and just rolls his eyes.

"Yes, I am, thanks. I don't understand why you are using it, though. You think I'll regret - what, being with you?"

Loki looks away and a second later he also takes a careful step back, and Tony realizes that yes, he got it right, that is _exactly_ what Loki fears.

Tony doesn't know what to say for a moment - it makes his heart break a little, somehow, because Loki shouldn't be scared of that. Tony doesn't want him to be scared of that, he wants Loki to know how _happy_ Tony is now that they're together, how much Tony missed him, how much he thought about him in the last few months.

Words fail him, though, and all he ends up saying is, "Loki -"

Loki doesn't let him get any further, anyway. "I am not the obvious choice", he says. His fingers are fidgeting. "And Helheim is not a gentle place. You could do much better than this."

"I don't care." Tony takes a step forward and grabs Loki's jacket again. "I don't care that I could _do better_ \- what does that mean, anyway? I don't want anything else. Loki, this is - no, _you_ , you are the best fucking thing that ever happened to me." Loki doesn't do anything but look at him, so Tony adds, a little desperate, "I _told_ you this morning, didn't I? That I'm exactly where I want to be?"

He can see Loki swallow. "Yes, you did."

"Well, I didn't lie. So don't… do this. Please, okay? I don't want you to worry that I could change my mind. I won't."

“Alright”, Loki agrees, far too easily, and Tony knows that the older god isn’t at all convinced.

Tony suspects that this isn’t something he can make Loki understand just by telling him the truth. But that’s okay, probably - they have time. Time Tony will use to make Loki _see_ that there’s no reason to be scared of anything anymore.

"How about this", he says, tapping Loki's chest. "We settle in in my bedroom - or, wait. Yours?"

"Mine is bigger", Loki says carefully.

Tony squints at him, because technically they - especially Loki - can change the rooms however they wanted, so things like _too small_ or _too big_ aren't really a problem. But he has to admit that he's curious about Loki's bedroom, so -

"Okay then. So we settle in in _your_ bedroom, I take a bath because Butterfingers got oil all over me, and then we just - do whatever we want, okay? No rush, no pressure, just us."

Loki's smile is soft and sincere. "That sounds good."

 

⸪ ⸫ ⸪

 

Loki never expected this to actually happen. He dreamed about it, of course, and he did a lot of _presuming_ himself, but having Anthony in his bedroom and knowing that it is real is an entirely other matter.

Which is why he _tries_ to stop being nervous when they halt in front of his bedroom door. He knows he is behaving ridiculous, but he can't help it. Trusting as confidently as Anthony is a skill Loki yet has to learn.

He still opens the door for Anthony without much hesitation; the last thing he wants is for Anthony to think that Loki doesn't _want_ this. Because Loki does want this, more than anything.

Anthony enters Loki's bedroom almost carefully, probably trying not to seem like he wants to rush things. Loki leaves the door ajar behind them when he follows his - betrothed, he is allowed to use that word now, isn't he?

His _lover._

Loki makes himself smile thinking that, and at least a part of his nervousness disappears. He watches patiently as Tony looks around the room - or the rooms, rather. Loki has a parlor with a comfortable sofa and armchairs nobody except himself has ever sat on, then obviously his bedroom and also a large bathroom. Anthony stays in the living room for now, though; he only glimpses into the bedroom through the open door.

"This is really nice", he says. "Though I expected even _more_ green. And some gold."

There is already a lot of green in Loki's rooms, but he did leave out the gold - remembering Asgard, Loki is rather tired of being surrounded by golden floors and walls and furniture.

"We can change it, of course", Loki offers tentatively. "If this isn't to your liking, you can -"

"No no, really, I like this." Tony's smile is bright and pleased. "It's really you. I'll be comfortable here."

That was what Loki worried about, so he returns the younger god's smile and nods, relieved. The implication that there's a link between _Loki_ and _comfortable_ makes him ridiculously happy.

"You wanted to take a bath?", Loki says, not knowing what else to say. Anthony nods, so Loki makes his way to the bathroom. "I'll draw you one. You can - make yourself at home."

"I will", Anthony says warmly. "Thank you."

Loki yanks his eyes away from Anthony and goes to prepare a bath. He sits on the edge of the big tub while the water is running and tries to catch his breath; he has no reason to be _this_ nervous. But he feels like he is walking on tiptoes, on a rope somewhere high in the air, as if anything he says or does could make him _lose_ this. And losing this again is about the worst thing that could happen.

When he leaves the bathroom, Tony is inspecting the book shelf next to the fire place, his head tilted to the side as he reads the titles.

"Don't you have a library for all your books?", he asks when he hears Loki come in, turning his head to grin at him. "Like, at the end of the hall?"

"Yes, but these are my favorites," Loki joins his lover ( _lover!)_ In front of the shelf, "and I like having my favorite books close to me while I sleep."

That makes Anthony laugh; it sounds fond. "Of course."

Loki can't resist, he bends down and presses his lips to Anthony's cheek. Anthony leans into the touch, into _Loki_ , and somehow Loki doesn't quite manage to pull away again. He carefully puts his arm around Anthony and rests his forehead against the other god's temple.

"Would you-", he begins, but has to try again because his voice sounds too quiet in his ears, "Would you like me to bring your clothes here? I could… enlarge my closet."

"Yeah", Anthony breathes, then chuckles. He looks at Loki, his eyes bright. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Good." Loki hides his grin by kissing Anthony's temple, and then he forces himself to take a step back. "Get rid of that oil, then. Take your time."

Anthony's only reply is a kiss, pressed firmly on Loki's lips. But then, a second before he disappears into the bathroom, he looks over his shoulder and ask, "You want me to leave the door open?"

Loki frowns. "I won't look."

Anthony laughs even when he is already out of sight. "That was an invitation, sweetheart."

Loki can't muster a response. The door does stay open.

_Sweetheart._

Loki feels warm all over, suddenly. He clears his throat and _forces_ himself not to look at the open bathroom door. Instead he goes to the bedroom and comes to stand in front of the wardrobe.

He is better at things like this - or he was, at least, a long time ago. He doesn't remember ever being so easily _flustered_ . When he met Angrboða, he won her over within _minutes_ , with just a few smiles and honeyed words. He charmed his way into the beds of a lot of other people that way, too, but it seems that he forgot all about that. After Angrboða and before Anthony, there hadn't been _anybody_ , so maybe it made sense that he was a little… rusty.

Or maybe it's simply because it is _Anthony_.

Loki shakes his head over himself and opens the closet. It takes but a thought to expand it, make room for Anthony's clothes and then store them away. The sight makes him stop and just stare for a moment, his throat suddenly tight.

"Hey, Loki?"

Loki starts as Anthony's call, but quickly pulls himself together. "Yes?"

He hears a quiet "uhhh", then Anthony asks, "Could you bring me new clothes?"

Loki closes his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. But then he takes some of Anthony's clothes out of the closet - a soft pants and a comfortable tunic; hopefully nice to sleep in - and makes his way back to the bathroom. He knocks on the doorframe but then already enters, because Anthony _did_ invite him, didn't he?

"I swear I'm not being a tease on purpose", is how Anthony greets him.

Somehow, Loki manages to stay calm and raise a brow at him, even though the fact that Anthony is only a few steps away from him and naked makes it a little hard to think.

"I swear!", Anthony repeats in reaction to Loki's doubtful look. Thankfully, the bathtub is full of bubbles, and the only parts of Anthony Loki can see are his head, a bit of his shoulders and his hands when he lifts them to indicate their general situation. "But these rooms are full of wards and they don't let me get clothes, and I'm too lazy to conjure some up."

"Oh", Loki makes, setting the clothes down where Anthony can easily reach them when he gets out of the tub. "I'm sorry, I should have thought about that."

"It's fine", Anthony says, grinning up at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Loki allows himself to stare at Anthony for a moment longer before he clears his throat and moves to leave the room.

"You could join me, you know", Anthony calls after him.

Loki stops in the doorframe to give him a dry look. "Now you _are_ being a tease on purpose."

"Yes", Anthony agrees lightly.

Loki rolls his eyes, but he has to chuckle when he sees Anthony's pout. "I'll wait for you in the bedroom", Loki promises him.

Anthony seems to perk up at Loki's low tone, but then he sees the look in Loki's eyes and his pout intensifies. "Now you're mocking me."

"I would never", Loki says earnestly.

Anthony's feet comes up to splash water across the room, and he actually manages to hit Loki with a few drops. He starts laughing at Loki's offended expression, and Loki can't keep from joining in.

He still leaves the bathroom, with Anthon calling after him, "At least wear something nice for me, then!"

"I would", Loki replies, "if you hadn't just made me wet."

There is a quiet "damn" to be heard that makes Loki laugh again.

Anthony doesn't need long anymore, after that. He comes into the bedroom while Loki is taking clothes for himself out of the closet.

"That's a really big bed", Anthony says, making Loki chuckle.

"Yes. Make yourself comfortable, I'll just -" He gestures at the vague direction of the bathroom, and Anthony nods.

"Yeah, sure."

Loki goes to get ready for bed, feeling nervous again. He distracts himself with re-braiding his hair several times, but eventually he has to return to the bedroom. He finds Anthony already lying in bed, not yet under the covers but still looking asleep. Loki comes to an abrupt halt and stares at the man lying in his - _their_ \- bed, his mouth going dry.

Anthony is unfairly gorgeous, even in clothes like these and his hair still slightly wet. He is completely sprawled out, apparently as relaxed as he can possibly be, and thanks to his arms being over his head, one of them covering his eyes, his tunic has slid up, just a little. Loki can see a stripe of skin, the hint of Anthony's hip bones, a soft trail of hair leading down to -

Loki clears his throat, and Anthony starts and lifts his head.

"Oh. Hi." He is actually blushing, which Loki hasn't seen often so far. "I, uh. Kind of didn't notice how tired I was."

Loki swallows thickly. "Shall I let you rest?"

"You shall join me on our bed", Anthony retorts without any sign of hesitation. His hands are already reaching out for Loki, too.

Loki doesn't need to be told twice, but he sits down on the bed only hesitantly. He folds back the covers and slides his legs under them, watching as Anthony follows suit. The younger god stretches languidly, smiling up at Loki.

"You okay?"

Loki returns his smile. "Yes."

"Come here, then."

Loki carefully lies down, and Anthony immediately tucks himself against his side, resting his head on Loki's shoulder. Loki's breath hitches, his heart beating much too fast, but he slowly relaxes when Anthony drapes his arm across Loki's middle, making himself comfortable.

"I didn't sleep much the last nights", Anthony mutters softly.

Loki swallows and slowly lifts his hand,  starting to run his fingers through Anthony's hair. He expects Anthony to tense, but all he does is give a soft sigh and press closer against Loki.

Loki can't remember ever being this happy before.

"Why not?", he asks, keeping his tone quiet.

Anthony chuckles; Loki can _feel_ the soft vibrations of it. "I was excited", he says, which is already enough to make Loki smile, but then Anthony also adds, "I really missed you."

"I missed you, too", Loki replies, and maybe his tone isn't at all firm anymore.

There's a brush of lips on Loki's shoulder, a little above the collar of his shirt. Loki forces himself to keep breathing, and he wraps his arms around Anthony and holds him close. He stays awake for quite a while, but Anthony falls asleep pretty quickly. He just stays like this, in Loki's arms, as if it's the easiest thing on the world.

Maybe it is.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr :)](https://amidnight--dreary.tumblr.com/)


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